Virgin Trains cancelled all services to and from Scotland for Wednesday and Thursday, while ScotRail halted all operations in affected red area from 6pm until late Thursday morning.

The A720 and M80 saw major incidents such as jack-knifed lorries and crashes causing delays, with Police Scotland urging people not to use the motorway and mountain rescue teams helping with road users in difficulty.

Massive #Multiagency effort underway in the Scottish Borders to keep everyone safe - Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue Team played our own small part. 3 vehicles and 6 people deployed today - 21 people on standby, a rota cover for the next 36hrs at least. #notjustmountainspic.twitter.com/6vSheK7xNl

CalMac ferries were also disrupted, with the operator warning that many services face further cancellations due to the weather.

Extreme conditions are expected in the red alert areas between 3pm on Wednesday and 10am on Thursday.

The definition of the highest-level warning is "you should take action now to keep yourself and others safe from the impact of the weather" and it cautions that widespread damage, disruption and risk to life is likely.